Grown-Up Friendly Spinach Pancakes

As you know, I devote a great deal of thought to how I feed Nico.

There are a lot of unhealthy foods floating around his daycare; sugary cereals, cheap frozen waffles, and please tell me what child under one needs to be eating baked Doritos? I struggle to strike a balance between sending him there with a variety of foods that are healthy, not too hard to feed him and that he will really like.  I'm basically trying to feed my kid the way I want to while not becoming Enemy Parent #1.

It isn't always easy, but it's important to me so I make it work. There are stand-by go-to items of course - he would never turn down an omelete, and ate one the other day stuffed with blue cheese and prosciutto - but I'm always on the lookout for new things I can cook (and ideally freeze) to have on hand.

I found this recipe through The New York Times and tweaked it a bit to make it more baby/mom friendly. The original calls for blanched spinach, but I prefer to add it raw for both the color and the nutrients that treatment retains - it also means you don't have to dirty another pot.  In fact, I've dispensed with bowls altogether and suggest you make this entirely in your blender.  Nico isn't yet one, and so technically can't have cow's milk in a non-cultured form. I subbed in Almond milk and dialed down the nutmeg to keep the sweetness in balance. I also use either spelt or whole wheat flour which adds a nutty flavor and ups the nutrition once again.

All in all these are a perfect treat. They are loaded with leafy greens, portable, freezable and creme fraiche spreadable. The recipe makes about 40 mini pancakes - taking into account that about 20 of them will go mysteriously missing. Hey, I said they were grown-up friendly, right?

Spinach Pancakes
Adapted from Mark Bittman


Ingredients
10 ounces baby spinach
2 cups spelt or whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
a few grates of nutmeg
1 tablespoon raw sugar
1 1/2 to 2 cups almond milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons melted and cooled butter, plus unmelted butter for cooking


In the bowl of a blender, beat eggs and melted butter. Then add the almond milk and give it a couple more pulses to combine. Add the spinach and pulse until chopped.  Add the dry ingredients and blend until combined, pausing to push excess flour down the sides of the bowl.  Place a teaspoon or two of butter in pan. When butter foam subsides, ladle batter onto skillet, making silver dollar sized pancakes. Adjust heat as necessary; first batch will require higher heat than subsequent batches. Add more butter to pan as necessary.